So far, So near
by Snowy-Mint-Ice
Summary: As a member of BLADE, Elira Faust is tasked with helping mankind settle on planet Mira. The aliens that destroyed earth have followed them and are hell bent on finishing the job. In the fight for humanity, Elira is more focused on unravelling the secrets of Mira. Everyone must play their part, and perhaps hers will become more than a supporting role.
1. Chapter 1- BLADE

**I revisited Xenoblade X recently and was inspired to write. There's more I wanted to say about the fanfic, but I'll do so at the end to save you scrolling if you just want to read the fanfic. Please enjoy!**

* * *

BLADE

Elira Faust blinked wearily and shielded her eyes from the light filtering through the giant tree roots she'd spent the night under. With a weary groan, she forced herself to sit up, her muscles protesting from the strain of the past few days. It wasn't the first time Elira had felt the after effects of overwork, and she knew that either way, she had to get up no matter how much she wanted to fall back asleep. The first thing Elira noticed was how bright it was. To wake after the sun was a dangerous thing when one was camping in the middle of Noctilum. The dense forest was home to all manner of indigens, including many that wouldn't pass up a easy target on their morning hunt. Elira turned to wake her partner only to find an empty bed roll. Even more concerning was the neglected photon saber that lay beside the bed roll. No matter what Elira had to say about her partner, she trusted his capability as a BLADE not to carelessly roam around in the thick of Noctilum without being readily equipped. What was more, if Elira knew anything about him, it was that he wouldn't skip on breakfast. Signs of breakfast were sorrily lacking. All sleepiness vanished as Elira scrambled to her feet and carefully poked her head out of the natural shelter. Once she confirmed there were no hostile indigens nearby, Elira cuped her hands around her mouth and called out.

"Doug! Where are you?"

Silence replied. Where on previous mornings, Elira would have stopped to admire the view, this time she quickly dressed and decided to leave the more time consuming armour behind. If Doug really was in danger, time would prove more valuable than a little extra padding. Elira slung her raygun on her back then grabbed her knife and Doug's photon saber. She hastily, though still cautiously, stepped out.

"Doug!" Elira called again.

Still, there was no reply. Elira cursed and carefully searched for tracks. There was no clear signs around. Instead of being dicouraged, Elira turned back to the camp. The Skybound coil tree they'd camped under was a towering feature in the otherwise flat clearing. Luckily, Elira had been studying it the previous day and some of the riging was still up. She used a pulley to hoist herself onto a stable section and climbed to a higher branch. Using the high vantage point, Elira surveyed her surroundings. A flash caught her eye. Focusing on the direction of the blast, Elira spotted a figure that was immistakbly Doug with what looked like a tectinsular. Without hesitating, Elira quickly descended and sprinted in the direction of the blasts. A roar rang through the air, filling her mind with all the worst possible scenarios. When Elira finally arrived at her destination, what greeted her was thankfully not Doug's corpse. However, it was still a sight that sent a spike of anger through Elira's brain. Doug, fully outfitted in his heavy armour, was shooting at a giant tortoise like creature with ferns growing from its shell. The perplexing part was the nonchalant grin he gave when he spotted her. He was completely relaxed despite his situation and made Elira feel like her worry was wasted. She had half the mind to run Doug through with his own photon saber but decided it wouldn't be worth Commander Vandham skinning her alive.

"Hey, look who decided to wake up." Doug called.

"You went off to fight a tectinsular and left me asleep?" Elira yelled.

Even with his muscular build and the extra buff of his heavy armour, Doug looked incomparably small in front of the tectinsular. A single one of its legs was the size of Doug's entire body. The pressured air from the geysers on the sides of the tectinsular's head added to it's intimidating pressence.

"I thought you were in trouble! And you even forgot your photon saber." Elira growled.

"Oh, I thought I dropped it on the way. Pass it here!" Doug held out a hand ready to catch the photon saber while supporting the heavy raygun against his hip.

"Don't think the commander won't be hearing about you running off and leaving your partner asleep!" Elira threatened and threw the photon saber to him.

"To be fair I was actually taking a stroll and spotted a suspicious tectinsular. It just happened to be _the_ tectinsular that's been wrecking data probes around here." Doug informed while catching the photon saber.

He dodged the tectinsular's head butt then blasted a beam at its legs. Elira took her own raygun from her back and began to assist Doug. The tectinsular charged wildly at its attackers but couldn't defend against the fire from two fronts. Doug seized an opportunity as the tectinsular's back faced him after its charge. He efficiently switched the setting of his raygun and charged a gravity blast.

"Fire up those melee attacks!" Doug directed.

"Got it!" Elira confirmed.

She swiftly slung her raygun on her back and unsheathed her knife. Doug fired the gravity blast, causing the techtinsular to topple over. Before the tectinsular had a chance to stand, Elira moved in. Her deadly chrome knife flashed in a streak of silver. With Elira helping and Doug in possession of both his weapons, the fight ended without tension. Elira sighed and regarded the tectinsular thoughtfully.

"You know we had to take it out. It was digging up data probes." Doug stated.

"I know. No one ever said surviving on a foreign planet is easy." Elira sighed. "I'll collect some samples from the tectinsular, then we should clear out. We don't want to be hanging around when the smell of fresh meat draws scavengers. Blatta are very common around here."

"The cockroaches of Mira." Doug grimaced.

"Yeah, only cockroaches on earth weren't the size of cats." Elira shuddered.

The pair returned to camp and efficiently packed up. Elira gathered up all the equipment and checked over all her material samples. Once everything was loaded onto the helicopter, Doug scanned the area to make sure there were no hostile airborne idigens around that could tear the them from the sky. He gave Elira the green light for take off and boarded the pilot seat.

"Back to NLA we go. There's enough fuel to get up to the outpost in Rustpool Bank, but it's risky landing with so many indigens. We'll play it safe and stop near the Dragon tail tree instead. Depending of their fuel stock, we might need to make another somewhere in Primordia." Doug said calculated.

"The closest would be Biahno hills. Well, as long as we make it before night, I don't mind. Though, with such a late start, I wonder." Elira said, giving Doug an accusing look.

"Hey at least we got the job done! Think of the extra pay check." Doug reminded.

As they went up, Elira couldn't help but feel newly awed at the beauty of Noctilum. The western continent of Mira never failed to impress with its lush forests, flourishing wildlife and grand waterways. The Celestial Ascent was especially impressive, a massive waterfall who's top had yet to be reached. In fact, Mira in it's entirely still felt surreal to Elira. Even with two months of constantly exploring Mira as a curator in BLADE, she still loved seeing the scenery. Mira had a natural pull that drew people in. It was a planet that was alien, but at the same time felt like home. That was not to say Elira didn't miss earth. It didn't need to be said that everyone missed earth.

"Air transport really is the best." Elira sighed happily.

"Tell me that after I come out intact after the Skell flight test tonight." Doug muttered.

"Skell flight test? Are you sure you're up for it after returning from an expedition?" Elira asked skeptically.

Doug scoffed. "Someone's gotta help further development and I'm the only one signed up."

"Lin sure is determined to see Skells in the air. Maybe I'll drop by? The fireworks from the skell exploding would be quite the display." Elira teased.

"Right, thanks for your faith." Doug said sarcastically.

"A rugged pilot like yourself doesn't need my faith to come out safe. Your skill is enough." Elira smiled.

"Eh right." Doug muttered, embarressed.

He navigated the helicopter to NLA, deliberately taking a detour past sightseeing spots.

* * *

The city of New Los Angeles was a gigantic circular structure that stood out prominently in the Primordia plains. Blue crystalline shards protruded out around the city wall, caused by the shock absorber shattering upon impact on Mira. The BLADE tower stood proudly as the tallest building of NLA. It's exterior was covered in a screen that displayed scrolling numbers and text with a large percentage in the middle. As Doug flew into the city, Elira could see how busy it was even in the evening. They'd spent the better part of the morning on final checks, not to mention fighting the tectinsular, causing them to arrive later than planned. However, work didn't stop for BLADE members. Even in the midst of night, the city would be bustling with action. The helicopter was landed on the raised deck of the administrative district, directly outside the entrance to BLADE Tower.

"Alright, let's go report to Eleonora and collect our pay." Doug said as he jumped out of the helicopter.

Elira followed suit, stretching her limbs which had become stiff during the endless flight. They'd been lucky and only had to make one stop for refueling which doubled as a lunch break. It did however mean being cramped up in the helicopter the entire flight across Primordia. Still, Elira couldn't complain as Doug had graciously piloted the entire day, allowing her to observe the landscape and relax. If she was feeling tired and stiff, Elira could only imagine how Doug felt.

"Hey Doug, how about I treat you to a drink after your flight test?" Elira offered.

"I'm not about to pass that up, but shouldn't I owe you a drink for this morning?" Doug reminded.

Elira was about to reply when she felt a vibration against her hip. She retrieve a small device from her belt and flicked it on. A semi-transparent screen showed up with a notification from headquarters. Before even opening the message, Elira could already guess its contents would result in her losing the break she'd planned to take. With a heavy sigh, Elira read through the message and found her prediction to be true.

"If you report to Eleonora for me I'll call us even." Elira informed Doug.

"What, did Vandham call or something?" Doug asked.

At Elira's dejected look, Doug patted her on the shoulder with a barely contained laugh. Elira pushed him playfully and promised to be watching when his Skell blew up in the sky. Conveniently, Elira was right outside BLADE Headquarters and could walk straight up to the entrance. Once inside, Elira took the elevator to the meeting room.

"Save the complaint soldier, you'll like this one." A gruff voice greeted.

The commander was a muscular man with an impressive horseshoe mustache. He stood waiting in the centre of the room with arms crossed. The table before him had screen on its surface as was typical of briefing consoles. It was currently showing a digital map of Mira which consisted of five land masses. Primordia acted as the center of their map, housing NLA. To the east and west were the continents of Oblivia and Noctilum respectively. Both were connected to Primordia by land and could therefore be accessed more easily. North of Primordia was Sylvalum and even further north, Cauldros. A large expanse of ocean lay between Primordia and the two northern continents. Both were still barely explored and little was known about either of them. Few BLADE could boast visiting the north of Mira. Elira noticed an enlargement of the continent Sylvalum in the corner of the console and felt excitement wash over her. Commander Vandham noticed the glint in her eyes and laughed heartily.

"Now slow down, I don't want to get your hopes up. Your mission is in good ol' Primordia and it's not a scouting mission. You just got back, I'm not about to send you off for another long mission." Vandham informed.

Elira face fell. "I thought you said I'd like this mission?"

Vandham scratched his head awkwardly. "Eh, you will! Just let me do the briefing will you?"

Begrudgingly, Elira stepped forward to the briefing console and listened as Vandham began to explain the mission.

"We got an issue around west Janpath Plain. North of the area is a mire we don't have too much information of it. We've been calling it the Silent Mire for that reason. The data probe at FN site 122 should be able to scan the Silent Mire, but we can't seem to get the thing to work. I'm you there with a team of pathfinders to see if you can do something about it." Vandham instructed.

"With respect Commander, I'm a Curator, not a Pathfinder." Elira interjected.

"Well your skills can be put to use here! You're good at investigating unfamiliar area's aren't you?" Vandham pointed out.

"Also, is it the best idea to assign me to a team?" Elira asked bluntly.

The two maintained eye contact until Vandham finally lowered his gaze. He sat down and sighed heavily.

"You are a member of the Builders of the Legacy After the Destruction of Earth and it's part of the job to work in teams." Vandham lectured, using the full name of BLADE for emphasis. "Our priority is to secure the Lifehold. You know who we're gonna do that?"

"By installing data probes and expanding frontier nav." Elira replied instantly.

"You're damn right, but also by working together. There is only so many of us, we can't afford lone wolves. When we have the resources, I'll let you go sightseeing in Sylvalum or where ever the hell you want." Vandham pronounced.

Elira understood the commander's intent, and couldn't deny his words. She had to play her part in humanity's survival. With a deep and slightly exaggerated sigh, Elira leaned over the briefing console and examined the information they had. Though the intelligence form their network FrontierNav couldn't scan the Silent Mire, it did provide some interesting insight. From the blank spot in the data, Elira could see the actual 'mire' part of the Silent Mire was relatively small compared to the area that couldn't be scanned. A closer look at the images they had of the place showed a rock formation that created a canpoy which stretched over the Mire.

"That there is why I said you'll like this mission. The disturbance might be because of the rock canopy. There are a hoard of Welkin Levitath in the air that would shoot down any aircraft that tries getting close. Those floating whales won't attack a small human climbing up though. You may need to climb up to survey the area." Vandham said.

"Maybe this won't be so bad after all. Which team will I be going with?" Elira asked.

"Team Belisarda, one of the best. You'll get along fine!" Vandham assured.

"I'll take my leave sir." Elira saluted and exited the room.

* * *

By the time the briefing finished and Elira stepped out of BLADE tower, the sun had begun to set and make way for the stars. Just as Elira walked out onto the deck, the screen paneling on the exterior of BLADE tower shifted. The image of an man in a suit appeared, his face serious. Elira turned to the broadcast and waited for the man to speak.

"Brave citizens of New Los Angeles: Good day. This is your director general Maurice Chausson. Today I once again come to you with news I am truly delighted to share."

The fact that Maurice had called himself 'director general' made Elira raise a brow. Had he really been promoted in the short four days she'd been away?

"Yesterday we repartiated ten more White Whale crew members." Maurice continued.

Elira blinked in surprise. "No way, they actually found more members. That's crazy!"

Since their ship the White Whale crash landed on Mira, not a single member had been recovered. Now suddenly there were ten. It was an invaluable achievement in rebuilding humanity.

"We work together for a better NLA and a better tomorrow!"

Elira couldn't help but smile at the attempt to raise moral. As the announcement ended, she walked to the edge of the deck and looked out at NLA below. On the upper deck of the administrative district, one could see the rest of NLA neatly laid out. There was the residential district for housing, commercial district for shopping and industrial district for manufacturing. Everything humanity needed, so nicely compact in one small city. _A beautiful lie_ , Elira thought blissfully. _A perfect illusion that we somehow brought Earth with us._ Only it wasn't earth, and everytime Elira stepped outside the city, or someone spoke of humanity's survival, she was reminded of it. Lights began to flicker on throughout the city, waking Elira from her musing. In the distance, she saw the outline of a mech walking out of the test hangar in the industrial district.

"Doug's skell flight test!" Elira suddenly remembered, immediately looking to the transport airship.

The spot it usually occupied was depressingly empty. Elira wasted no time and sprinted to the elevator. If she couldn't travel by air, she could go to ground level and hitch a ride with a transport vehicle. Several people greeted Elira, some asking why she was in such a rush. Elira could only hastily wave and mutter than she was busy.

"Elira, what's gotten you into such a hurry?"

Elira stopped in her tracks, and looked behind her. Two figures approached; a woman with white hair dressed in combat clothing and a red headed man in casual blade wear.

"Elma! And who is this?" Elira asked, giving the unfamiliar man a friendly smile.

"I'm Cross, nice to meet you." the man introduced.

"Nice to meet you Cross. I'm Elira Faust. I'm part of the Curator division." Elira greeted warmly.

He looked a few years younger than Elira, perhaps twenty three at the most. Elira also noted the way he appeared rather uncertain and overwhelmed. From Elma's reputation as a unique talent in BLADE and the earlier announcement, Elira put two and two together.

"You don't happen to be the one of the new rescues that the minister- I guess now director general- was talking about are you?" Elira asked.

"The only one actually. I found his lifepod in starfall basin. He seems to have a case of extreme amnesia, perhaps as a result of the stasis hangover." Elma explained.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Don't worry, I'm sure your memory will come back." Elira encouraged.

"Anyway, from the looks of things, you just got back from a mission too. I'm sorry to have stopped you in your hurry. Is something wrong?" Elma asked.

Elira selfconciously adjusted her light armour and ran a hand through her auburn hair. She wasn't sure what Elma meant by 'from the looks of things', but she had a feeling it had to do with her less than orderly appearance.

"I was just going to watch a skell test flight. Why don't you two come along? We'll have to hurry though." Elira invited.

She lead the way, catching a ride from a fellow BLADE. As the group was walking up to the test site, they were immediately met with a crashing skell and a speeding car following close behind.

"Another bust." Elira sighed.

She hastily made her way to the crashed skell as Doug emerged. He threw his helmet in frustration and stood impatiently. Elira caught the helmet before the equipment could become damaged. A young girl circled the skell with her comm device running a scan.

"Look, I know what exhaust smells like, and it was exhaust in the cockpit." Doug was saying as Elira approached.

"Doug, are you ok?" Elira asked with genuine concern.

"Alive at least. Sorry to disappoint on the lack of fireworks. I suppose Lin didn't quite screw up enough" Doug joked as he accepted the helmet Elira was holding out.

He examined the still smoking skell and sighed in annoyance while Lin continued the scan. Doug jumped down from the skell and crossed his arms.

"Just check the duct work would ya?" he muttered.

"Oh I'm checking, I just seriously doubt- oh hey look at that! The intake/exhaust bypass is reversed. Oh man, lucky I caught that!" Lin exclaimed.

"You caught that? You're the one who cleared me to fly!" Doug accused.

Ignoring Doug's accusation, Lin turned to Elma and Cross who had just arrived. Doug sighed and rubbed his head in annoyance. He looked to Elira and indicated at Cross.

"Who's the new guy?" he asked.

"His name is Cross, a new rescue thanks to Elma. She really is the top Reclaimer out there." Elira admired.

"She doesn't slack off, unlike someone who nearly got my ass killed." Doug joked. "Did she find any new info on the Lifehold location?"

Elira shook her head regretfully. "Nothing. Still, finding Cross means one more person to look. I just hope we find it before time is up."

Lin was enthusiastically acquainting herself with Cross and offering to give him a tour, something that didn't bode well for Doug. Sure enough, she left him to tidy up, Doug shouting his protest as she walked off.

"I swear, that girl can be so annoying. Can't deny her skill either though." Doug said. "Hey, how about we hit the comercial district and get some drinks after I clear up here?"

"Sorry, I have a mission early tomorrow. I'm heading out to Primordia with a team of Pathfinders." Elira grumbled.

"The commander assigned you a mission? With a team?" Doug asked incredulously.

"Yeah, maybe he was going to ask Gus or Mathias but they were busy." Elira joked.

"Hey, you _are_ one of the best Curator we have. Get rid of the lack of coordination and you'd be _the_ best." Doug reasoned.

"Say's the guy who left his partner asleep and ran off to fight tectinsular solo." Elira drawled.

Doug dodged the comment with a question. "Anyway, what team are you assigned to?"

Elira pulled out her comm device and read out the team that was listed on the mission summary "Team Belisarda."

"Belisarda huh? The leader is an old buddy of mine." Doug stated thoughtfully. "Say hi for me won't ya?"

"I'll keep an eye out for him." Elira promised.

* * *

 **So this was super random. If you're coming from my other fanfic WSOC and wondering what the hell is going on, worry not. WSOC is definitely still my focus. This new fanfic is actually just something I wrote because I felt like writing a new story. It's not really a developed idea and I wasn't even going to post it. I wrote it for the sake of writing and i** **t was fun to do. However,** **the Xenoblade X pool of fan fictions in pretty small, so for the my love of the game, I thought why not just post it anyway? Who know's if chapter two is gonna come out. Perhaps next week, perhaps never. Unlike WSOC (my other story), I'm not dedicated to this one. If you're reading, then thanks! And hopefully, the story wasn't just a brain fart.**


	2. Chapter 2- Disturbance of Silent Mire

**I guess I'm back with chapter two then.**

* * *

Chapter 2: Disturbance of Silent Mire

It felt particularly still in the barracks lounge as Elira prepared for the day. Her two roommates Vera and Phina were asleep and out on a mission respectively. Usually, Elira would have been thankful for the quiet but now, in the early of the morning with nothing but the sound of her own cluttering to fill the silence, it gave room for anxiety to arise. Elira fastened her combat brogs and moved her weight leg to leg, ensuring all the plating was fitted correctly. She then slipped on a light sleeveless turtleneck and decided to forgo heavier top armour. For a mission which required scaling a rock canopy, sometimes being mobile would be more helpful than being encased in protective armour. As experienced of a climber as Elira was, even she wouldn't be able to properly fight any indigens while clinging to a rock face. Being mobile to run away was the best bet. Once dressed and fed on a energising though plain breakfast, Elira took a moment to calm herself. She stared herself down in the mirror, watching the anxiety reflected in her own amber eyes. She willed herself to clear the cynical doubts in her head. Her uncooperativeness was an exaggeration, Elira rationalised, just as most things were embellished in conversation. The mission was going to go perfectly well and Elira would get along smoothly with team Belisarda. At least, that was what Elira hoped as she grabbed her gear and headed out.

* * *

The Miran sun hadn't fully peeked over the horizon and the night lights were still on in the administrative district. Of course, that didn't make it any less active. Passing by the BLADE concourse, Elira was unsurprise to find a blond haired woman already up and working. It was rumored that Eleanora never rested, so diligent that she spent day and night at her station. As with all rumors, the more negative side of things whispered that she'd tampered with her mimeosome settings to not require rest. A perfect robot. Ironic really, Elira thought, when they were all mimeosomes anyway. Eleonora waved as a morning greeting and Elira returned the sentiment with a smile. She strolled down Division drive with a nervous spring in her step. No matter how unhappy she was to be assigned to a team, Elira had to admit she was a little intrigued by the Silent Mire. Besides, according to Doug, Team Belisarda was a top notch and welcoming group. Elira would greet them with her best smile and be cooperative. Elira nodded confidently to herself as she made her way past the opening of Armory alley to the end of Division drive where the Pathfinder sector was located, an area Elira hadn't often found herself. It was strange considering Curator and Pathfinder work came hand in hand, both being pioneers of sorts, though the two divisions _did_ have their sectors on the opposite sides of the administrative district. Caught in her own thoughts, Elira was almost run over by a giant robot leg.

"Sorry Elira!" came the transmitted voice of the pilot.

Recognising the voice, Elira smiled up at the skells head.

"My fault Nelson. You heading out?" Elira enquired.

"Yeah, my teams planting data probes in south east Primordia. Not too exciting but it's the job and we gotta get it done." Nelson informed, "How about you?"

"Meeting with Team Belisarda for a mission." Elira peaked into the pathfinder's sector and realised she didn't actually know what the team looked like. "Speaking of, could you point out which group they are."

Nelson made the skell lift its arm and point a finger at a group of three tucked in the corner. Elira thanked him and walked up to the team, taking in a reassuring breath right before reaching them. Seeing her approach, one of the members extended his hand.

"Hello, you must the one Eleanora assigned to us. I'm Shingo. That there is Mondo and the one with the skell is Saiden." Shingo introduced.

"Hi, I'm Elira. Nice to meet you." Elira greeted.

"Elira Faust right? I've heard some pretty cool stories about you. Apparently you've discovered more unexplored territory than any other curator. I look forward to working with you ma'am." Shingo said enthusiastically.

Elira looked surprised at the title. Ma'am made her feel so old and undeservingly important. She was only twenty-seven, and even with all the supposed feats she'd accomplished, she'd only been to Primordia and Noctilum. As she shook everyone's hands, Elira realised the man Doug had told her to say hi for him was absent.

"I heard you guys had another member, Lao Huang. Is he running late?" Elira asked.

"Fan of Lao's are you? Nah, he probably just decided he had something else to do." Shingo theorised.

Elira bristled a little at the first part of his comment then frowned at the second. It wasn't a good image to ditch a mission. From everything she'd heard about the head of Team Belisarda, she'd gotten the impression he was the best pathfinder around, the stories claimed as much, then again, with all the exaggerated stories about her, she shouldn't have been surprised.

* * *

"Right, so leaving from the East gate, the fastest route to Silent mire is across the East gate plain the up to Sickle Rock Rise. We might want to avoid going through the Rock roof segment as it's filled with hostile indigens. Instead we can pass by FN site 114 on open ground. Then it's a straight trip to our destination, though there's not much information in the surrounding area due to the FN site 122 data probe not working. Which of course is our mission." Elira laid out.

She'd transferred the mission plan to all the members comm devices which they were now studying the route on. Elira had never gone to the specific area herself, most of the land they covered on the way was familiar territory. The team was ready to move out, yet the final member, who happened to also be the team leader was nowhere to be seen. Though the others kept assuring her it was normal for Lao, Elira couldn't help but be perplexed. She may not be able to say much about teamwork, but at least she showed up to the mission.

"We can take a van to make travel easier and carry all the equipment. That way Saiden can pilot the skell in vehicle form too. The Roof Rock base camp is about halfway to Silent Mire. We can stop there to refuel." Saiden advised.

"Hey, are we leaving now?" A new voice joined in.

Elira turned to find a man approaching in calm strides.

"You're late." Elira stated matter of factly.

She didn't want to be too accusatory, not to the leader of the team. Lao gave a wry smile and offered a hand.

"Lao Huang, leader of team Belisarda. Nice to meet you too."

"Elira Faust. I'm the curator assigned for this mission." Elira introduced to the late comer.

"Well Elira, as I'm already late, why don't we set out. Wouldn't want to be any later on my account." Lao directed lightly.

The corner of Elira's mouth quirked up in a small smile.

* * *

Sitting opposite to Lao Huang, Elira found herself assessing the man. He had long black hair falling past his shoulders with a thin beard ghosting his chin. His figure was lean and muscular, fitting for a pathfinder. He wore a light bodysuit armour with arm and shoulder plating. Elira noted the slight orange detailing which added hints of colour to an otherwise black attire. Strapped to his back was a sniper rifle and a javelin rested by his side, a hand resting on the weapon. The cautious and alert type then. Elira wouldn't have guessed what with his tardy first impression. Lao met Elira's amber eyes with his own grey ones, the mimesome rings distinctively clear in the light colour. Elira awkwardly lowered her gaze, and beratted herself for staring. Luckily, Shingo chose that exact moment to strike up a conversation.

"Hey Elira, I heard a rumour you had your sights of the Celestial Ascent. Is that true?" he inquired curiously.

Elira cleared her throat, pointedly redirecting her attention to Shingo. "I have had thoughts about it. I'm hoping to climb up soon."  
"Climb? That's crazy!" Shigo exclaimed. "Why not just take a helicopter or aircraft?

"The ascent is right at the end of Noctilum and there isn't a base camp nearby so it would be difficult taking any kind of aircraft. As for skells, the flight test haven't quite worked out yet. There's also a strong ether field that messes with any kind of signal and we don't have any kind of surveillance up there. It there are indigens, stealth is easier without an loud engine. So climbing is the best option." Elira explained.

Shingo looked thoroughly amazed while Lao raised a brow, regarding Elira with an unreadable expression. She debated over whether he thought her mad or was impressed.

"Well you can show us that climbing skill we've heard so much about today." Lao noted.

"Hope I don't disappoint." Elira laughed lightly. She meant it.

The team passed through the East gate plain without incident and took their quick stop at the Roof Rock base camp before going through Sickle Rock Rise. Elira found herself awkwardly flitting around the team as they did a checkup on their skell and refueled the van. Not wanting to stand feel like an unwelcome outsider, Elira informed Saiden that she would take the chance to roam around the area. Grabbing a bag, Elira hummed to herself as she looked around. Instantly, she could breathe again and happily began taking in the surrounding land. She spotted a patch of heart shaped leaves and bent down to dig around it. A bundle of reddish burdock-like roots were exposed and Elira smiled.

"I would have mistaken you for a prospector if I didn't know better." said a voice accompanied a shadow looming over Elira.

She tilted her head up and saw Lao standing behind her carrying his javelin. Knowing herself, Elira thought she would have flushed and scratched her head sheepishly. Instead, she simply gave the roots a yank, popping them out of the soil.

"I'll take that as an insult." she deadpanned.

"The ever raging war between Curators and Prospectors." Lao recited.

"Well, it's the same with Reclaimers and Pathfinders." Elira offered.

Lao shrugged. "Actually I think Reclaimers are much more glamorous than Pathfinders."

Elira raised a brow as she brushed the roots clean. "You think Reclaimers are better?"

"Now I didn't say that. Reclaimers can have their glamour, but we know that the one behind the scenes really making it possible to track the life hold is the Pathfinders." Lao informed.

Elira couldn't help the smile that crawled it's way onto her face. Lao took offered a hand and pulled Elira up. She unsheathed her knife and delicately peeled away the skin on one of the roots.

"Strawlenny?" Elira offered.

Lao contemplated the specimen, then accepted it.

"In the shops they usually process these to look like strawberries before selling them. They taste just strawberry-like in root form though." Elira bite into a root of her own, savouring the sweetness.

"Humans are superficial after all. Prefer the polished lie." Lao scoffed.

"You say that as though you're not a human yourself." Elira quipped.

"I'm not."

Unsure how to reply, Elira simply waited for Lao to explain.

"I'm a mimesome." Lao finished.

Elira rolled her eyes at the comment. "Well when we find the lifehold we'll have our real bodies back."

Elira's comm device vibrated, signalling that the team was ready to be on their way.

"Speaking of, let's get this mission finished and help quicken the lifehold search." Elira announced.

"If only it was as easy as instally one prob." Lao sighed.

* * *

With the early start, they reached the Silent Mire well ahead of midday. The actual mire was a large drop down from their arrival point. Since they were early anyway, Lao made the call to circle around to an opening where they could enter. The mire was filled with indigens, though luckily non were preemptive attackers. Lao directed his team to inspect the Mire for probe installation while Elira observed the large rock canopy above. The only way to get up would be along one of the slated rock pillars supporting the canopy like spider legs. As described in the brief, there were several whale like creatures floating through the air. Fetching out her comm device, Elira frowned as the signal flickered weakly.

"There are a few electro duogill around, they wouldn't be causing the disturbance right?" Elira inquired.

"No, the probe installed here is augmented to dispel the electric and magnetic waves. Unless the canopy is amplifying the waves, it shouldn't have an effect." Lao stated.

"That won't be it. It that were the case, in the clearing just outside the canopy, the disturbance wouldn't be there." Elira muttered.

Abruptly, Elira walked back to the van and began digging out climbing gear. Rope, clasps, hooks and of course her prized gravity reducer augment. She removed the ray gun from her back in favour of shouldering a small bag to hold extra gear. The chrome knife stayed at her side but was joined by a belt harness attached to rope. Read to go, Elira turned only to nearly crash into Lao's chest.

"What're you doing?" he asked.

"Uh, right, um I'm going to climb now." Elira mumbled out.

"I see, but maybe tell the team?" Lao suggested dryly.

"Of course! If I can get a scan from on top of the canopy I can find an accurate range of disturbance. From there I can analyse based of the surroundings what the cause and source is." Elira laid out.

"So do you need us to do anything?" Shingo chipped in.

"Um, catch me if I fall?" Elira said lamely.

Damn if she didn't suck at this. Elira grimaced at her own reply and tried again.

"If I run into trouble, I'll use flares since comm devices aren't picking up signals reliably so if someone can keep watch that would be great. Blue if I can't advance because of terrain limitations and have to turn back, yellow if I'm stuck, white when make it up. Oh, and red for indigen's but that shouldn't be a worry. As for falling, well there shouldn't be a problem. There's not much you guys can do about that anyway." Elira surmised.

At Shingo's horrified look, Elira assure him she would be fine. In the end, Lao was the one who cleared Elira to climb. The team had discovered a small opening that could lead to a cave and were going to explore it. Shingo would stay outside and keep an eye out for Elira. Immediately Elira felt stressed. It was difficult working with a team. A team worked together, watched each others backs and provided support. But they also meant responsibility and pressure. By herself, Elira could take all the time in the world to do a mission, Vandham knowing never to give her an urgent one. She could even enjoy the view for a bit, sit down if she was tired and camp out if she wanted. A team though, meant Elira had to think about what they wanted. She had a schedule to run with, and people who needed to know her every move. Elira would also have to worry about their safety, not only hers. What if the cave housed hostile indigens?

"Hey, you focus on the top. We'll handle things down here. We won't delve too far, just to get an idea of what the scope of the cave is." Lao instructed.

"Right, good luck then." Elira nodded.

* * *

Elira wasn't sure how seasons worked on Mira. In the two months since they'd crash landed, it had seldom rained. High above the ground with only a loosely hooked rope and the strength of her grip preventing death, Elira felt she could relax. The air carried a light breeze that swept her hair and the sun was warm against her skin. The exhilarating feeling of confidence filled Elira as she climbed. Here she could demonstrate her skill and be sure in herself. It was only her out here, scaling a rock pillar to the unknown. Elira paused at a slight ledge in the rock only just large enough to perch on the edge. She unwound a coil of rope, the end wound around a metal hook. With as much force as she could muster, Elira threw the hook skywards. It hit the ledge of the canopy roof and caught. Elira tugged on the rope, making sure the magnet grip of the hook was working. Satisfied, she resumed the climb which was now slanted into an overhang.

 _Five minutes more and I'll be up._ Elira thought as she pushed herself up the last part of the overhang.

When her hand gripped the ledge, a sense of accomplishment filled her. She sat for a second, feet dangling over the edge, elbows against her knees. The view was to die for. The large crystalline shards stood starkly on the flat plains. From so high, it was difficult to make out the smaller details of the ground, but the giant milesaur to the far west were unmistakable. Their long necks reminded Elira of the brontosaurus of prehistoric earth. Elira shook herself out of her musing and set to work. The scan of the area was a quick one, being that the disturbance was the same on top of the canopy, if not stronger. Strange. Elira tested the rock, finding nothing unusual. She then took a look around. After exploring a bit, Elira noticed something interesting about the way the scan was turing up. There seemed to be a pattern in the way it flickered. Systematic. If the disturbance was caused by a natural field, then it was a very clean field indeed. Too clean though. Walking around more, Elira began finding even more abnormalities. There seemed to be an processed electrical signal, one unlike the electric from the indigens. A sudden thought entered Elira's mind.

What if it was a piece of the lifehold? Not the core of course, but every salvaged part was a blessing.

There were several large holes in the canopy which allowed Elira to look down at the mire below. She realised then that she hadn't sent a flare to Shingo. It had already been two hours, and he must have been worrying himself silly. Elira took out the white flare and shot it down wards so that Shingo could see below the canopy. Unconventional, but it worked. The flare startled a Levitath which sent out an ether wing attack. Elira ducked back, nearly falling off the edge. A response flare shot up. Orange, a question. Shingo must have seen the attack. Elira was about to send another white flare to show she was fine when a noise startled her. It was mechanical, accompanied by the humming of an engine. Elira whipped her head around and was met with a black plated skell. Something about the machine immediate triggered all of Elira's warning instincts. The skell turned to Elira, its arms fitted with scissor-like hands and large beam cannons adorning its shoulders. Elira's hand moved cautiously to her knife

"BLADE curator Elira Faust." Elira announced herself with the basic identification greeting. "Who are you?"

The skell's answer was to charge, beams firing and blades ready to shred Elira to pieces. She swore loudly, diving for cover. In one swift motion, Elira fired off a red flare and unhooked her escape rope from her belt. Unlike normal climbing rope, it was designed especially for situations where Elira had to get down as quickly as possible. There was no hesitation as she flung the hook of the rope at the edge of one of the holes in the rock canopy. It dug in, vibrating slightly with the pulse of a gravitational aura. Before the skell could continue it's assault, Elira activated her gravity reducer augment and was jumping through one of the holes. The gravity augment slowed Elira's decent enough for her not to get stunned as she was suddenly stopped at the end of the rope. The impact was absorbed by the rope and caused no recoil, instead allowing Elira to be suspended in the air, completely stationary. For a second, Elira thought she could breath and tried to calmly assess her situation.

To her utter horror, the skell descended after her, flying effortlessly like a phantom of death. Acting fast, Elira swung herself over to the nearest rock surface and stuck a climbing peg in. She was just in time before the skell but her rope and Elira slid against the rock, fighting to keep herself from falling to her death with only the grip on an unstable peg. The skell was already blasting at her, and Elira counted her luck that the only beam that connected was on her leg. She could lose her legs for now, but her arms were needed to get down. Ignoring the onslaught of the rogue skell, Elira hastened to attach her normal climbing roped to the peg. It was crude work, and just as likely to come loose as hold, but Elira was out of options. She tried not to think about how the skell would cut through normal carbon fibre easier than the alloy of her escape rope. As Elira abseiled down the rock face, the skell continued to advance, never ceasing its blasts. One caught the peg and for a heart stopping second, Elira was free falling. Out of ideas, out of tools, Elira could only send a silent plea.

By some miracle, it was answered. The levitath she'd startled was just below and Elira found herself landing directly on top of it. A sharp pain went up Elira's side as one of the levitath's ether feather sliced through her light plating. The levitath, understandably, jerked, sending a wave of blasts out. One hit the black skell, momentarily stopping it as Elira gauged her next move. She only had seconds before the levitath threw her off or killed her with an attack. The rogue skell was forced to stop its advance by the waves of ether shards the angry levitath sent out in its fury.

"Sorry." Elira whispered, breathing hard.

She scrambled to unsheath her knife and plunged it directly into the levitath's wing bone. It screeched, flailing as it fell. It's ether aura slowed it down, and the levitath recovered before hitting the ground. Elira saw them then, the pathfinder team below her, watching in shock. She made eye contact with Lao and it startled him into action.

"Jump!" Lao shouted.

Elira hesitated. It was still a long way down. Not high enough to die though, and that was enough. Taking a deep breath, Elira lept. Lao caught her, rolling to dull the impact.

"Elira, can you walk." Lao asked as she pushed herself into a sitting position.

"No, I got hit in the leg." Elira admitted reluctantly. "There's some sort of rogue skell up there. Beam attacks and it flies."

"Shigo and Mondo, you two, get Elira to the van. Saiden, get the skell for out of range."

"You're fighting alone?" Elira stared incredulously.

"Like hell you're doing anything in that state. Our skell is a probe installer, not a battle type. Don't worry, I've got this." Lao assured.

Shingo helped Elira up and carried her to the van. He then pulled out his comm device for a scan, gasping at the result.

"Elira, you're losing biocirculatory plasma through a wound on your side! There's wing shards stuck in there that I don't know how to remove so I can't laser seal the wound. Your leg's directory frame support has been broken. I can splint it until we get some actual help." Shingo informed.

Elira wasn't an expert on mimeosome bodies, but she guessed it was something akin to blood loss and a broken bone. It didn't sound life threatening.

"Shingo, hand me my raygun and get me in range of the skell." Elira requested.

"Are you crazy? Lao said to get you out!" Shingo protested.

"Just do it Shingo, I'll take responsibility!" Elira snapped.

It came out harsher than she wanted. She might regret her tone later, but right then she was on overdrive, the mimeosome equivalent of an adrenaline high, and it wasn't going to last very long. Elira didn't want to doubt Lao's ability, but the rogue skell had both the high ground and the bigger guns. Not to mention the Levitath going rampant and the other indigen that had been triggered to attack. If she wanted things to work out, Elira had to take control herself. Even as Shingo scrambled for the raygun, the rogue skell was raining beams upon them. They had to shoot down the rogue skell soon or every indigne in the mire would be rampaging soon. Elira grabbed the raygun from Shingo and focused of the rogue skell. It was easy to spot, a jarring black mechanical target amidst the dazzling blue of the Levitath's ether attacks. Elira switched the settling of her raygun and felt the beam charging up.

"Gravity blast!" Elira shouted to signal Lao.

Lao heard and took the cue. He efficiently switched to his javelin launching it ahead at the rogue skell. The javelin connected, impaling it straight through the chest. The skell fell with a trailing fume of smoke as Lao sprinted after it, wrenching the javelin. In one beautiful motion, he whirled around, sniper rifle already taking the javelin's place, and fired a blazing shot straight through the Levitath's wing. It let out an ear splitting wail, struggling to stay up. The creature attempted to flee, crashing into the rock pillars in its haste to escape. Suddenly, there was only silence. Elira stared dumbly at Lao as he casually swung his javelin and approached the fallen black skell. A beep startled Elira from her daze, and she hastily pulled out her comm device. The disturbance in the Silent Mire had been erased and the probes were working. Elira couldn't help but smile humorously.

"Guess we found the disturbance."

It was then that she remembered she was impaled by a Levitaths wing and her leg was broken. Elira felt herself fall backwards and saw the blurring image of Lao running to her before blacking out.

* * *

 **It's so fun to write about the Xenoblade X world, and whenever I play the game I get inspired. Naturally, after picking it up again for fun, I also returned to this fan fiction. I will never 100% this game, it's so big!**

 **I have a more solid story in my head whereas before this fic was just a sudden idea that struck. So it is going to be basically a 'novelisation of the game', going by a phrase I've seen before. Only, of course it's from Elira's point of view and mostly going to be following events parallel to the main story not exactly the same story events with Cross, Elma ect. Speaking of, the main Elma crew will probably only be on the side as their story has already been told. This is Elira's.** **I also want to write about some of the unanswered questions with my own interpretation and answer, including a big one at the end.** **Though that's going to be a long time coming.**

 **This is mainly a self indulgent fanfic and I'm not really expecting many people to actually read it anyway. Xenoblade X is a pretty niche fandom after all. If you are really following the story, firstly thanks! And secondly,** **expect scarce updates once in a blue moon. Sorry...**


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